It has become quite common for owners of automobiles to make their experience on the road as comfortable as possible. The interior of an automobile is, in fact, becoming more home-like, or office-like, with modem amenities such as cup-holders, cell phone jacks, high fidelity stereo systems with tape players, compact disc ("CD") players, and CD changers. It is only a matter of time before cars, sports utility vehicles or mini-vans are installed with a television set, albeit not for the driver, but certainly for the passengers, to enjoy during a road trip.
With the proliferation of video games and digital video discs ("DVD"), a video display unit will enable the passengers, particularly children in the back seat, to further enjoy the ride. Some companies have begun promoted the term "Mobile Video." However, the technologies for video displays have not advanced for the automobile industry as much as the PC industry. Car-mounted video displays have requirements that typically cannot be fulfilled by the conventional computer and display industries, due to the special environment in which the video displays will have to operate. Mounting the video display is one barrier, as well as the dimension of the display unit. Conventional cathode-ray tubes ("CRT") remain quite bulky for automobile applications.
Recently, the problem is getting addressed by progresses made in the flat-panel display technology. While the size of the video display unit is more suitable for the interior of automobiles, the picture quality of the video display unit has also improved dramatically. Now it is more practical to install a flat-panel LCD video display for the interior of an automobile with reasonably good picture quality. The reduced size of the video display also prevents it from becoming a safety hazard by blocking the rear view of the driver.
An example of such a Mobile Video system can be found in an overhead console system available from Audiovox, designed for Chevy Tahoe, Model No. VOH641 or VOH642. While such a system can provide entertainment for movie, video and video games, it fails to provide flexible viewing angles for the backseat passengers. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the viewing angle is quite important to LCD video displays, since the passenger may end up seeing a blank screen due to improper viewing angle, or due to interference from an external light source. Further, if there is only one passenger in the back seat, it will be desirable to be able to arrange the video display so that the lone passenger can get the most viewing pleasure. Also, if the passenger is a small child in the back seat, then the display may need to be adjusted downward for the child to view. The display unit from Audiovox fails to teach such features.
Another display unit is disclosed in the U.S. Patent issued to John Rosen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,055. While the Rosen patent teaches a display unit with a housing and a screen, it does not teach exactly how the screen can be pivoted around its second axis, i.e. B axis, as in its FIGS. 2 and 9. Neither does the Rosen patent teach the interrelationship of the A axis (moving the display unit between a stowed position and a deployed position) and the B axis (moving the deployed screen sideways). Furthermore, the hinge assembly and the display unit still pose some disadvantages in terms of protecting the screen while improving the stability of the video display unit. Additionally, there is no teaching with respect to how to keep the wiring untangled, as the screen unit may be continuously rotated in the same direction, i.e. beyond the 360-degree, by the unsuspecting viewer. These problems are not taught or addressed by the Rosen patent.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon reading the following disclosure, both the Rosen system and the Audiovox system fail to teach means to protect the screen unit, while the screen is deployed, from accidental or unintentional force-stowing.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a hinge assembly with means to protect its screen unit, while the screen is deployed, from such scenario .
It is also desirable to have a hinge assembly with means to improve the stability of the display, hence the picture quality, in view of the vibrations from the automobile.
These objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a consideration of the drawings and the detailed description of the invention which follows.